Nusr-Et was made famous by butcher-turned-social media star Nusret Gokce, who went viral under the nickname “Salt Bae” in 2017 after posting videos of himself salting meat.

Salt Bae’s distinctive cobra-like manoeuver earned Gokce more than 12 million Instagram followers and has helped launch Nusr-Et restaurants in the Middle East, New York and Miami.

Dogus Restaurant Entertainment and Management (D.ream), which has a presence in 170 locations in 12 countries, said on Monday state-owned Temasek Holding and Metric Capital had paid $200 million for a 17 percent holding.

Reporting by Ebru Tuncay; Writing by Ali Kucukgocmen; Editing by David Dolan and Alexander Smith